A method of soldering components to printed circuit boards by moving the boards over a continuously flowing and circulating wave of molten solder in a solder bath. The process permits precise control of the depth of immersion in the molten solder and minimises heating of the board. SMDs are held in place during wave soldering with adhesives and are mounted on the secondary side (wave side) of the PCB.

The most widely used mass soldering process, primarily for through-hole boards, where the board is passed over a wave of solder which laps against the bottom of the board to wet the metal surfaces to be joined.

(1) A conduction machine soldering process that brings a printed circuit assembly in contact with the surface of continuously flowing and circulating molten solder. (2) A machine that creates solder joints by contacting the bottom side terminations on a board with the molten solder. This contact makes the connections as wave pressure, wetting, and capillary action force the solder to flow up holes and component leads to wet them to the board surface.

Wave soldering is a large-scale soldering process by which electronic components are soldered to a printed circuit board (PCB) to form an electronic assembly. The name is derived from the fact that the process uses a tank to hold a quantity of molten solder; the components are inserted into or placed on the PCB and the loaded PCB is passed across a pumped wave or cascade of solder. The solder wets to the exposed metallic areas of the board (those not protected with solder mask), creating a reliable mechanical and electrical connection.